Promissory Estoppel

Promissory estoppel can be defined as a promise that the promisor must anticipate rationally in to initiate an action , or forbearance on the part of the promisee or a third party . Furthermore , the promise must induce such an action or forbearance . In addition , if the avoidance of injustice in possible only by its enforcement , then such a promise will be binding . Under the principle of promissory estoppel , a promisor who induces a promisee to change its stance substantially is precluded by estoppel from refusing to accept the binding nature of the promise on

br the grounds that there is a lack of consideration . Therefore , promissory estoppel constitutes an alternative for consideration and it also plays a major role in enforcing a promise that has no consideration (Smith v Harriman Utility Board

The requirements of promissory estoppel are a promise that is crystal clear without ambiguity in its terms and conditions , the proof that the claimant had relied on the promise , such reliance of the claimant should be reasonable and foreseeable , and damages should have emerged from that reliance . Promissory estoppel is a vital device in protecting the interests of the parties to a contract . It is a means of remedy for reimbursing a claimant who had suffered injury due to a promise or representation of other party . In such cases the courts have awarded compensation for breaches of contractual obligations (Feldman , 2004

The doctrine of promissory estoppel under common law requires that a party to a contract , seeking the court 's intervention to obtain legal remedy , has to establish that he had acted with a clear conscience . A right of action is bestowed on a person who suffered damage or a loss due to a breach of the law and the courts enforce this right to remedy However , the state of the claimant 's conscience cannot be proved in claiming a relief . In cases where the plaintiff has said or done something in such a way that had induced the defendant to change his behavior and that reliance was reasonable , the courts may deny awarding a remedy to the plaintiff . The courts have been bestowed with this discretionary power . However , the fact remains that estoppel cannot be considered to be a remedy by the law in jurisdictions of the common law Promissory estoppel is only a shield and not a sword and courts consider the principles of equity . Promissory estoppel is merely a defense , which prevents a plaintiff from seeking action through legal rights , or from invoking a set of facts that would endorse enforceable rights where such enforcement or reliance becomes unfair to the defendant . The area of this remedy is restricted because it contravenes the legal rights of the defendant

The proof of the existence of a contract requires consideration to be extant for that agreement . Thus a contract entails a quid pro quo Consideration can assume any form and it can be either a benefit to the promisee by the promisor or an obligation on part of...